Midsomer Campgrounds-part 3
by Vince1976
Summary: There are strange animals in the woods surrounding the Midsomer campgrounds. Barnaby and Jones must get out of the woods if they are to survive.


I don't own Midsomer Murders

Detective Chief Inspector John Barnaby slowly regained consciousness. As his vision cleared he realized he was tied up. Barnaby glanced around and noticed that he was in the woods that surrounded the Midsomer campgrounds. The last thing he remembered was that he was about to rescue his sergeant Detective Sergeant Ben Jones when he was knocked unconscious. He noticed his sergeant and his girlfriend Ellen and her uncle Phil nearby.

"Is everyone alright?" he asked.

"We are fine for the moment sir" Ben said giving his boss a worried look "We have been worried about you. Raymond hit you pretty hard"

"I am fine Jones. Just got a nasty headache"

"Raymond has been gone for several hours. He might have left us here"

Ellen frowned at the Chief Inspector.

"A fine rescue" she snapped "You just got yourself kidnapped too"

"Ellen stop it" Ben said.

Barnaby looked in Phil Walkers direction. The man was trying to break free of the ropes but without much success.

"It looks like we are stuck here," he said.

"That is just great uncle Phil" Ellen said, "We are all going to die out here"

"Ellen!" Ben cried.

"Oh come on Ben. You heard Raymond. We have to survive the next several hours"

Barnaby began to work on his ropes. Ellen rolled her eyes.

"You are just wasting your time Chief Inspector," she said.

Barnaby kept working away at the ropes. He was not going to give up now. He was not sure what Raymond's game was but he was not going to play along.

Raymond crept closer to the nest watching closely for the mother dinosaur. He knew this was risky because he was going to steal Tyrannosaurus Rex eggs. Raymond did not want to meet the T-Rex. He had seen pictures. He moved slowly towards the nest and was about to pick up an egg when there was a loud roar in the distance and the ground started to shake from heavy footsteps. The mother T-Rex was coming back to her nest. Raymond knew he would be a goner if she found him anywhere near her nest. He quickly picked up the nearest egg and placed it into the bag. He would have to come back for the rest later. Right now he had four prisoners to take care of.

Barnaby managed to free himself of the rope and went to untie Jones. He knew there was not much time. Raymond he felt would be back soon. As soon as the sergeant was free he went to untie Ellen who gave him a hug. Barnaby frowned. He did not like the way she just flung herself at Jones especially after cheating on him.

"We have to get moving," he said.

Jones went and untied Phil.

"How are we going to get out of here?" Ellen challenged Barnaby.

"Does Raymond have a map?" Barnaby asked.

"Yes but I expect he took it with him"

"Dam"

Jones looked around and found two flashlights.

"At least he provided us with flashlights" he said.

"How is that supposed to help us Ben?" Ellen demanded, "We need a map"

"We are just going to have to try to find our way without one"

"Oh great"

Phil Walker gave his niece a smile before saying:

"I know these woods. I can get us back to the campgrounds"

Ellen shuttered.

"No way am I going into those woods late at night" Ellen said.

"Do you want to stay here?" Barnaby asked firmly "If you do you may not survive. Your best bet is to come with us"

"Fine. I just hope uncle Phil knows what he is doing"

Ellen's uncle met her gaze.

"I have been in the most worst places and managed to get out alive young lady," he said firmly.

"We need to get moving" Barnaby said.

The four went into the woods. Barnaby and Jones shone flashlights down the path so they could see where they were going. The Chief Inspector hoped they did not meet whatever was in these woods.

Raymond hurried along the path watching over his shoulder. The footsteps were coming closer. The earth seemed to shake. Raymond was so busy watching for the T-Rex he did not notice movement to the left of him. Several animals were moving quickly through the brush. The animals moved without making a sound surrounding their prey. Raymond turned and headed towards the river. As he made his way through the brush he suddenly became aware he was being watched.

"Hello" he called out.

Two red savage eyes looked at him from the thick brush. The animal growled low in its throat. Raymond nervously started to back up keeping his eyes on the animal.

"What do you want?" he said, "Do you want food?"

The animal continued to look at him. It seemed to be looking Raymond up and down.

"I don't have food" Raymond snapped "So get lost"

The animal continued to stare at him.

"Hey" Raymond said, "Are you stupid as well as deaf. I said get lost!"

The animal did not move.

"Boy I never met anything as stupid as you" Raymond sneered.

Just then Raymond was knocked to the ground from both sides. He looked up and found himself staring at two other animals. More of them seem to come out from the brush. They started to surround him. Raymond suddenly realized he was in a lot of trouble. He noticed horrible looking claws on each foot. The claws looked like small daggers. Raymond screamed as a claw ripped into his side and another across his belly. He felt something warm and looked down with horror as his intestines spilled onto the ground. Raymond continued to scream as the animals surrounded him. He felt sharp teeth bite into his legs and sharp claws rip at his flesh. No one was around to hear his screams. Raymond died alone and horribly.

The sun was just coming up in the east when the four reached the river. A light mist was floating over the water. Ellen and Ben went over and sat on a log near the bank to the river. Several animals were a few feet upstream taking a drink. They were the size of rinonosouruses. There were huge frills running down their necks and above each eye there was two large horns. There was a smaller horn on the nose. A few smaller animals came out of the brush and joined the adults by the river. Barnaby just started as though he could not believe it. These were the same creatures like the one he had seen across the road from his house.

"What the hell?" he said trying to figure out if he was seeing things or not.

Phil Walker noticing the look on the Chief Inspectors face nodded.

"Yes Barnaby" he said, "You are looking at a heard of Triceratops"

"It is not possible" Barnaby said "What in the world is going on here?"

"I can explain but it will take awhile"

"Are they real or man made?"

"They are real"

"So it is true," Ben said, "It is true what Ellen told me"

"Yes Sergeant" Phil said.

Barnaby turned to his sergeant.

"You knew about this Jones?" he asked a little angrily.

"I am sorry sir that I did not say anything. I was not sure I believed it. Now it is obvious that everything Ellen told me is true"

"I want some answers"

Ellen jumped to her feet.

"Chief Inspector now is not the time" she said "We need to get out of here before we become dinner"

Barnaby glared at the girl. Ellen was just as involved as her uncle was and he just did not trust her.

"Ellen is right sir" Ben said coming to his girlfriend's defence "The important thing right now is getting out of these woods. We can deal with everything else later"

Just then one of the babies Triceratops came over to investigate them. It looked from one person to the next as if it was trying to decide what kind of creatures they were and if they were dangerous. The baby Triceratops snorted and came closer eying them with suspicion. Ellen reached out to pet the animal but was stopped by her uncle.

"Ellen don't" he said, "You might frighten it"

"Oh come on uncle Phil" Ellen said, "It is so cute"

Just as Ellen reached out and petted the baby two of the adults looked up and angrily bellowed.

"Ellen look out!" Ben and Phil cried together.

Ellen gasped as she saw the two animals come charging toward her.

After the pack of animals gorged themselves they headed up the river. There were at least twenty animals in this pack. They sniffed the wind and got the scent of the other strange animals. Four of the strange animals by the scents and the pack could smell other animals as well. The pack would not go hungry. They followed the scent and came upon the camp sight. They sniffed around getting the scents and then hurrying upstream. In the distance they could hear the heard of Triceratops bellowing. There were another sounds as well. The pack waited in the underbrush for their chance. They would get their chance but not when the heard was on high alert.

Ellen stood and watched as a huge animal came charging at her. She was so shocked she just stood there glued to one spot. She felt someone slam into her and she was sent spa walling. Ellen rolled onto her knees and saw Ben under the huge beast.

"Ben!" she cried getting to her feet. Out of the corner of her eye she noticed Barnaby running over to them in a panic. Her uncle Phil grabbed the Chief Inspector.

"No" he said firmly.

"That is my sergeant" Ellen heard Barnaby yell, "Let me go!"

Ellen looked around for something she could use. She found a large stick nearby and picked it up. She started to hit the animal screaming and swearing at it. The animal bellowed in confusion.

"Jones!" Barnaby cried trying to break free of Phil's grasp.

A second animal bellowed and charged in the direction of Ellen. She gasped and dropped the stick and took off running.

"Ellen" Ellen heard her uncle call.

The first animal stabbed Ben in his side and he cried out in pain. He rolled away from the animal to avoid being stabbed again. Ben got to his feet and turned to run but was not quick enough as a horn got him again in his gut. The sergeant gasped.

"Jones!" Barnaby yelled. He turned to Phil.

"We have to do something," he said.

"There is nothing we can do" Phil said.

The Chief Inspector broke free of Phil's grasp and glared at him.

"You really would just stand by and allow Jones to be killed?" he demanded.

"I am sorry Chief Inspector"

"Well I am not like you. I would do anything to protect my sergeant"

"If you do anything you might be killed too"

"Then so be it"

Phil shock his head as he watched Barnaby hurry over to the sergeant who was backing away from the animal.

"Jones" the Chief Inspector said.

The animal hesitated when it spotted Barnaby. The Chief Inspector stepped in front of his sergeant. He tired not to show fear as he faced the animal.

"Go away!" Barnaby yelled picking up a stone and throwing it at the beast. The animal bellowed in anger and got ready to charge.

"Sir?" Ben whispered not sure that throwing things at the animal would be such a good idea.

The animal started to charge at the two detectives. Phil just watched as the animal got closer and closer. He watched as the sergeant pushed his boss out of the way. Phil gasped in shock as he watched a horn go right through him and Barnaby yelled "Jones!"

Barnaby jumped right onto the animals back. The animal bellowed trying to get the Chief Inspector off its back.

Ellen continued to run with the animal right behind her. She could hear it bellow and snort. Ellen did not want to find out what would happen if it caught up with her. It would probably stab her with those really long horns. She knew running was probably a stupid thing to do but at least she managed to get one of the animals away from her boyfriend. Ellen could feel the animal catching up with her so she started to climb the nearest tree. The animal stopped just beneath the tree and stared up at her as though it was confused to why Ellen suddenly was climbing the tree. Ellen managed to get to a spot that she was sure the animal would not be able to reach. It gave one last bellow and then turned and walked off. She waited until the animal was a good distance away and then started back down the tree. She had no idea what happened after she took off. Was Ben all right? Was her uncle Phil all right? Ellen hurried down the path.

Ben groaned in pain. He felt as through his insides were on fire. Little rivers of blood streamed from his wounds. The sergeant could hear shouting and the bellowing of the animals. He closed his eyes and waited for death to overtake him. The next thing the sergeant knew was that someone was calling his name. Was it God? Was he dead?

"Jones" a voice said "Jones answer me please"

Ben slowly opened his eyes and found himself looking into the worried blue eyes of his boss DCI Barnaby.

"Sir" Ben said, "What happened?"

"Don't you remember Jones?" Barnaby asked worried "You were attacked"

"By what? By whom?"

"You would not believe it"

Ben looked around and could not see Ellen.

"Ellen" he said in a panic "Where is Ellen?"

Barnaby sucked in his breath when he heard his sergeant's girlfriend's name but did not show his disapproval.

"She seemed to have taken off," Barnaby said.

"We got to find her sir"  
"Phil Walker is out looking for her now"

Ben tried to get to his feet.

"I got to go and try to find her," he said.

Barnaby grabbed his sergeant's shoulders and gently laid him back onto the ground.

"You are in no condition Jones," he said firmly.

"But sir I have to find her. Please let me find her"

"No Jones. You have been stabbed several times and losing blood. We need to get out of here and get you medical attention"

"Sir I can't sit back and do nothing"

The Chief Inspector sighed when he saw the determined look in his sergeant's dark eyes.

"Ben" he said softly "I know you care about Ellen a great deal. However you would not be much use to her if you die from the loss of blood. Phil will find her.

The sergeant looked away from his boss trying not to show the tears that suddenly came to his eyes. Barnaby placed a hand on his sergeant's arm.

"Just try to stay calm my friend" he said, "We will get out of here"

Barnaby carried several logs. The sun was just about gone in the west. Phil Walker seemed to have been gone a long time. Either he had not found Ellen yet or they decided to leave him and his sergeant in the woods. Jones seemed to be sleeping and ever so often would make soft groaning noises. The Chief Inspector was worried. Very worried. If they did not get out of these woods soon his sergeant would die. The sergeant started to thrash about as though he was having a nightmare.

"Sir" he moaned "Sir where are you?"

Barnaby walked over and kneeled by his sergeant.

"I am right here Jones" he said "I am right here. I am not going anywhere"

"Sir"

"You are going to be okay. Do you hear me? We are going to get out of here I promise"

"Sir please do not worry about me. Please just leave and save yourself"

"No I will not leave you"

"Please sir"

"I refuse to leave you here to die. We are both getting out of here is that understood?"

The sergeant groaned in pain. He turned and looked at his boss and knew it was useless to convince Barnaby to leave him. The Chief Inspector was willing to stay and maybe die as well.

"Sir if you stay you might not survive either" Ben said "It would be best if one of us makes out of here alive"

"If I leave you here to die I would never ever forgive myself" Barnaby said "How would I able to live with myself if I did not stay and look after you and protect you"

"Sir"

"You are my sergeant. It is my job to look after you"

"I am glad you are here sir. It saves me from being out here alone and bored"

Barnaby laughed at his sergeant's joke.

Ellen thought she heard her uncle call her name. She looked around and did not see anybody. Again she heard her name being called. She saw her uncle come running up to her.

"Ellen" he said "There you are"

"I am sorry to have ran off uncle Phil" Ellen said.

"We need to find Barnaby and Ben. Your boyfriend is seriously hurt. If we do not find a way out of these woods I am afraid he will not survive"

"What?"

Ellen felt as though the ground had collapsed from underneath her feet.

"How bad is it?" Ellen asked afraid of what the answer was going to be.

"It is really bad Ellen. He was stabbed several times," Phil said seriously.

"Oh god"

"Barnaby is with him. He refused to leave the sergeant's side"

Ellen felt a little twinge of annoyance. She was Ben's girlfriend. She should be the one to offer him comfort not DCI Barnaby. She tried not to show what she was feeling but it was hard not to.

"I don't understand why he has to look after him" she snapped, "I'm his girlfriend"

"Ben is Barnaby`s sergeant" Phil said "You know that Ellen"

"It still is not right"

"Come on we need to hurry"

Ellen followed her uncle down the path. The sun was just about set. Soon all of the night animals would be out and it would not be safe.

Barnaby felt something shine in his eyes. He turned away from the light. The Chief Inspector thought someone was shining a light in his face.

"Go away" he growled.

He suddenly realized the light that was shinning in his face was sunlight. He slowly opened his eyes and blinked at the sunlight that was blinding him. Barnaby got to his feet and turned to look at his sergeant who seemed to be sleeping a few feet away. The Chief Inspector went over to check on him. He grew alarmed when it looked like Jones was not breathing. Barnaby swallowed the lump that came to his throat.

"Jones" he called.

The sergeant did not answer.

"Jones"

Barnaby felt panic begin to tighten his stomach. If his sergeant were dead then Barnaby would be out in these woods all alone. Phil had yet to return.

"Please god no" Barnaby whispered.

Jones still did not move or breath. The Chief Inspector began to shake him in desperation. The idea of loosing his sergeant filled him with dread.

"Come on Jones" Barnaby cried "Don't you give up on me"?

There was still no response.

"You stay with me do you hear me!" Barnaby said, "You must fight Jones. I need you!"

The sergeant suddenly groaned and rolled over to face the Chief Inspector.

"Sir" he said, "You are disturbing my sleep"

Barnaby stated to laugh with relief.

"My god Jones" he said "You gave me a fright"

"What?" Ben said surprised.

"I thought you were dead"

"Dead?"

"You looked like you were not breathing Jones"

Ben took his boss's hand in his.

"I am okay sir," he said.

Barnaby bit his lip to try to keep the emotions that threatened to overwhelm him at bay. He tightened his grip on the hand of the young man who had come to mean so much to him.

It was midday when Phil and Ellen found the Chief Inspector and his sergeant. Barnaby was holding his sergeant while he slept. Phil and Ellen went over and Phil looked Ben over.

"How bad is it?" he asked Barnaby.

"It is really bad" the Chief Inspector answered, "He needs medical attention and soon"

"That would be impossible Chief Inspector" Ellen snapped, "We are in the middle of nowhere"

Barnaby glared at Ellen.

"I am aware of that Ellen" he said "We need to find a way out of here"

"Well I for one think we have no way of getting out of here in time to save Ben's life" Ellen said "I'm afraid we might have to leave him behind"

Barnaby looked at the young woman as though she had lost her mind.

"I am not leaving my sergeant behind," he said.

"Do we really have a choice Chief Inspector?"

Phil examined the sergeant's wounds shaking his head.

"I am afraid Ellen has a point Chief Inspector" he said sadly "Ben might die before we got out of here"

Barnaby`s eyes widened in horror.

"No" he said, "Please tell me he will be okay. Please"

"I am sorry Chief Inspector" Phil said.

Barnaby held his sergeant close to him.

"No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no" he said softly.

Ellen looked away when she noticed the intense emotion that crossed the Chief Inspector's face. She knew she could not complete with the bond Barnaby shared with his sergeant.

It was four in the afternoon. The four had stayed by the river because Barnaby had refused to leave his sergeant. Ellen could not believe that the Chief Inspector was being so unreasonable. If they left Ben behind they would be back in Causton by now. Ellen had not liked the idea of leaving her boyfriend behind either but she knew Ben would not want them to risk their lives for him. She looked to where Barnaby was holding Ben. He had not let go of him since he was told he could die. Barnaby looked up when he sensed Ellen staring.

"What?" he snapped.

"Nothing" Ellen said, "I should be the one to comfort Ben. Not you"

"You no longer have any right to offer any comfort"

Ellen noticed Barnaby`s bitter tone.

"I am his girlfriend!" she cried.

"You _cheated_ on him!" Barnaby said his tone turning cold "You proved that Jones means nothing to you"

"How can you say that to me?"

"You do not know how to have a relationship. You use people if you think they are worth something to you. After you feel that you gotten what you want from them you throw them away like they are nothing more then garbage"

"How dare you say these things to me? Who do you think you are?"

Barnaby watched as Ellen tried to control her temper.

"Ben Jones is the kindest, funniest, most loyal man I have ever known" Barnaby said, "He also has the biggest heart. He cares for you. He wanted to go and look for you despite being hurt. He deserves more then you are willing to give him"

"I like Ben. I really do"

"Are you sure about that? You took off when Jones was attacked by the heard"

"I was trying to save his life!"

"Were you trying to save his life or were you really thinking of saving your own skin?"

Ellen's eyes grew hard.

"You bastard" Ellen yelled raising her hand to strike the Chief Inspector across the face.

"You are no good for my sergeant" Barnaby said, "He has been hurt because of you"

"You are just saying these things because you do not like Ben being happy with anyone" Ellen sneered, "If you really cared for him you would stay out of his life"

"You would love that," Barnaby said "If I were not in his life you would be able use him like a toy for your own amusement. Sorry young missy but I will not allow you to hurt my sergeant any more then you already have. Your relationship with Jones ends now"

"You have no say in this Chief Inspector"

"Yes I do. I am calling the shots from now on"

Ellen glared at Barnaby and he glared right back at Ellen.

"Okay Chief Inspector" Ellen said "We will see who comes out on top"

It was dark by the time several PC`s found the group. Two of them went over to Barnaby and Jones.

"What happened sir?" the female PC asked.

"He was attacked" Barnaby said "We need to get Jones out of here and call an ambulance"

"Yes sir"

The male PC looked over at Ellen and her uncle.

"What about them sir?" he asked.

"Take them to the station. I will be questioning them," Barnaby said.

"Yes sir"

Ellen turned to the Chief Inspector her eyes ice.

"You can't do that!" she cried, "We are victims just as much as Ben and you are"

"I told you young lady I am calling the shots from now on" Barnaby snapped "You be quiet"

Phil Walker gave Barnaby an angry look.

"Don't you talk to her like that Chief Inspector?" he said getting into Barnaby`s face.

"You and your niece are involved in this and I want answers from both of you" Barnaby said "You released those animals in these woods and put all of us in danger. My sergeant is hurt because of you. You better pray he survives or I will make your life very unpleasant"

"Is that a threat?"

"No a promise"

Ellen came over and stood beside her uncle.

"You are a bastard," she said.

"No I am not a bastard" Barnaby said "I am a police officer who takes offence when one of my officers is hurt"

"Barnaby would you at least allow Ellen to go with Ben to the hospital?" Phil asked.

The idea of Ellen sitting by Jones's bedside made Barnaby`s skin crawl.

"She hurt my sergeant" Barnaby said "She has no right to be anywhere near him"

"She is Ben's girlfriend for gods shakes!"

"Not if I have anything to say about it"

Barnaby turned to the male PC.

"Get them out of here" he ordered.

"Yes sir" the male PC said grabbing Ellen's arm.

Barnaby watched the PC walk away with Ellen and Phil. The Chief Inspector narrowed his eyes as he watched Ellen. He was determined that the woman was not allowed near Jones.

Later at the hospital Barnaby walked into his sergeant's room and felt his stomach drop all the way to his feet. He went over to his sergeant's bedside and swallowed the lump that was beginning to form in his throat. Barnaby thought back to all the things that had happened to Jones ever since they had began working together. Of all the things that have happened this had to be the worst. The doctors gave Jones a forty percent chance of survival, which were not really good odds. The Chief Inspector sat in the chair and grasped the hand that lay limply on the bed.

"No" he said softly "This can not be happening. You must fight Jones. Do you hear me? Do not give up and that is an order"

Barnaby felt tears come to his eyes. Losing Jones would be like a knife ripping through his gut. The sergeant could be a little annoying at times but that did not matter. He was a good officer and a very good friend.

"It is Ellen's fault" Barnaby said, "She is not going to get away with this I promise you"

A hand moved towards Barnaby`s as though the sergeant knew he was there and touched it.

"I am right here my friend" Barnaby said quietly "I am right here"

Jones seemed to smile as though he heard his boss's voice.

"You are going to get better and you are going to come back to work and be by my side" Barnaby said as a tear started down his check.

Barnaby squeezed his sergeant's hand as more tears ran down his face. He wished it were himself in that bed and not the sergeant who was like family to him.

END OF PART THREE

Do not worry. Jones will survive.


End file.
